ALS Science Briefs are short (200 words maximum) descriptions of recently published ALS-related work. These “brief” highlights also include one image, a caption (50 words), and the publication citation. All ALS users and beamline scientists are invited to fill out the short submission form here and send a hi-res image to
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Elemental and chemical imaging analyses showed that sea salt particles react with water-soluble organic acids in the atmosphere through a unique mechanism which had been overlooked in atmospheric chemistry. The reactions release volatile hydrogen chloride into the atmosphere and leave behind sea salt particles drained of chloride.

Advanced ceramic composites can withstand the ultrahigh operational temperatures projected for hypersonic jet and next generation gas turbine engines, but real-time analysis of the mechanical properties of these space-age materials at ultrahigh temperatures has been a challenge – until now. Berkeley Lab and UC Berkeley researchers have developed the first testing facility at ALS Beamline 8.3.2 that enables CT-scanning of ceramic composites under controlled loads at ultrahigh temperatures and in real-time.

Diamondoids are nanoparticles made of only a handful of carbon atoms, arranged in the same way as in diamond, forming nanometer sized diamond crystals. A new study shows how they could enable the development of a new generation of electron emitters.

Amyloids are insoluble fibrous protein aggregates sharing specific structural traits. Amyloid diseases, including Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and the prion conditions, are each associated with a particular protein in fibrillar form. These amyloid fibrils were long suspected to be the disease agents, but evidence now suggests that small, transient, polymorphic oligomers are the toxic entities.

Sea urchin spicules are an ideal system for studying biomineral formation mechanisms because they contain 99.9% calcite. For the first time, researchers have directly observed spicules caught in the act of crystalizing, gaining a tremendous amount of information about the process and even some unexpected results.

Apoptosis, or programmed cell death, is a normal process for most cells in multicellular organisms. Inhibitor of apoptosis (IAP) proteins suppress apoptosis and are over-expressed in human cancer cells, causing resistance to cytotoxic therapies.

A research team has acquired nanoscale, element-specific images of a crystallographic boundary in an a new magnetic shape memory compound. Knowledge about these magnetostructural domain boundaries will be useful in adapting these compounds for robotic and medical applications.

Researchers from the University of Wisconsin and the ALS conducted the first demonstration of quantitative Polarization-dependent Imaging Contrast (PIC) mapping on the prismatic layer of a mollusk shell, revealing multiply-oriented nanocrystals.

Professor Nitash Balsara and his team at the University of California, Berkeley have developed nanostructured electrolytes for use in lithium batteries that have the potential to increase the energy density of the batteries and make them safer.

Due to drought and limited freshwater supplies, the increased accumulation of naturally occurring salts, boron (B), and selenium (Se) has worsened in some agricultural areas. Researchers from the U.S. Department of Agriculture used ALS Beamline 10.3.2 to study the utilization of Se-biofortified crops in these “semiretired lands."

In autophagy, a double-membrane structure called an ‘autophagosome’ engulfs portions of a cell's cytoplasm, directing them for degradation. Research performed at ALS Beamlines 8.2.2 and 12.3.1 reveals a central mechanism in autophagy, as well as a unique mode of enzyme binding.

Using three ALS beamlines, researchers have determined the structure of AgBIS, a three-domain plant sesquiterpene synthase that is a biosynthetic precursor to an advanced biofuel with physico-chemical properties similar to D2 diesel.

An international research team working at ALS Beamline 11.3.1 studied metal-ion-mediated reactions of 2-pyridinealdoxime (the simplest 2-pyridyl oxime and the only aldoxime in this family) and observed novel transformations of the ligand.